Marcus Vick

NFL Draft News

Marcus Vick QB/WR 6' 216 Virginia Tech Jr.
By: Robert Davis

Michael Vick's younger brother has had his share of ups and downs at Virginia Tech. He entered with huge expectations after the success Michael had, and showed his all around talents as a redshirt freshman. In 2003, Vick completed 30-57 passes for 475 yards, with two touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 102 yards on the ground, and hauled in four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. His career went south the next season as he was suspended for the 2004 season after being arrested for reckless driving and possession of marijuana. He came back in the spring and won the QB job, and looked to have his career back on track. As a junior this past season, he earned All ACC honors after completed 61.2% of his passes for 2,393 yards to go with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Vick added 380 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

Vick is an awesome athlete. His quickness, agility, and straightline speed are all excellent. He brings a lot of versatility to the field. His athletic gifts give him the ability to play wide receiver, and he did at times during his stay at Va Tech. But he is also a legitimate quarterback prospect. This past season he grew a lot as a quarterback. He made better decisions, was a lot more accurate, but still displayed the playmaking ability he always had. He definitely proved he was on the right path to developing as a quarterback.

Where do you start with Vick? Let's start on the field. As much as he improved this season as a quarterback, he still has a lot of work ahead. He is very raw at the position, and still makes too many mistakes out there. He also lacks ideal size in a QB, and is actually smaller than his brother, who is considered undersized. If you move him to wide receiver, he will just be relying on physical talent. Whatever position you project him at, he is a work in progress. Marcus would have had more time to develop at the college level if it weren't for his off the field problems. He has as many off the field issues as any player in recent memory. It started as a freshman when he was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of minors, as he provided teenage girls with drugs and alchohol. He was then suspended for his sophomore season after being pulled over for reckless driving. During a search of the car, officers found marijuana in the car. He returned to the playing field in 2005, but his immaturity again was on display just before halftime of the Fiesta Bowl. After a play, Vick got up and stomped on the back of Elvis Dumervil's knee, and Dumervil never returned to the game. Vick was then suspended for an unknown amount of games when he was yet again arrested. This time he was arrested for three misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm at a McDonalds. Virginia Tech had enough and kicked him out of school, and Vick declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft.

Marcus Vick is a mess. He has a tremendous amount of god given ability. He has the talent to play two positions at a high level in the NFL. But he is a headcase. He believes people should respect him because of his name, and thinks he can get away with whatever he wants. He has to grow up and realize that it takes work to make it at the next level. With his off field incidents, Vick has killed any hope of instant millions in the NFL. If he is lucky, some team will gamble on him late in the draft just in hopes that he figures it out. Realistically he goes undrafted. The Falcons may bring him in and let Michael keep an eye on him. He has the talent to make it, he just needs to mature.